Democratization of Foreign Policy: India’s Experience with Paradiplomacy

Since the economic reforms of the 1990s, Indian states have largely contributed to India’s foreign policy decision-making in two critical areas, namely, economic diplomacy and influencing India’s foreign policy with its neighbours. Given India’s growing importance in the world arena, one would assume that Indian states will continue to have an increased role in its foreign policy decisions. However, the Indian Constitution was framed with the idea of a strong union government and the power to drive foreign policy initiatives continues to remain under the exclusive purview of the union government. There is no institutional framework that facilitates the involvement of the Indian states’ in foreign policy decision-making. States’ involvement is usually on an ad hoc basis and often pushed through by strong state level leaders or by the coalition compulsions. The article examines the Indian paradiplomacy experience to note that paradiplomacy has the potential to democratize foreign policy decision-making only if it is supported by a strong institutional framework. A fragmented practice of paradiplomacy to suit immediate political needs neither promotes democratization of foreign policy nor does it allows for a meaningful engagement of Indian states in the global governance debate.